A North Carolina Democrat running for state Senate was arrested for trafficking heroin on Thursday. According to the Raleigh News-Observer, Castalia town commissioner Clarence Bender was arrested during a traffic stop. Nash County and Drug Enforcement Agency officials had been investigating Bender for two months.

Jefferson County, Colo. Democrats have revoked 66-year-old Estelle Carson’s 2012 “Democrat of the Year” award, following her conviction on Thursday for stealing from a 71-year-old woman who suffers from both partial blindness and cerebral palsy.

Carson was found guilty of felony identity theft and felony theft from an at-risk person for stealing checks from the woman to pay for cable, cellphone and Internet bills.

“After much consideration, my decision was that the award being presented by my organization and the alleged financial exploitation need to be compartmentalized, one having no bearing on the other. Thus I decided to present the award to Estelle,” Kennedy wrote in an email following the event.

How Argentina lost game of chicken with renegade bondholders To see future electorate, look at California voters now

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By Mary Slosson

SACRAMENTO | Wed Nov 28, 2012 6:10pm EST

(Reuters) - A Democratic campaign treasurer accused of defrauding the campaign war chests of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and other California politicians was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay $10.5 million in restitution on Wednesday.

Kinde Durkee, who controlled the funds of some 400 political candidates and groups, was arrested in September 2011 and charged with criminal mail fraud. She pleaded guilty in March as part of a deal with federal prosecutors.

Durkee, 59, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California and was ordered by Judge Kimberly Mueller to spend 97 months in federal custody and pay $10,529,915.76 in restitution.

Mueller said the loss of campaign funds "certainly" affected the democratic process and shook the faith of citizens who had made campaign donations.

"I want to take this opportunity to apologize for my actions," Durkee said in court. "I take full and complete responsibility for what I have done."

The arrest of the longtime treasurer for Democratic politicians left the campaigns of a number of elected officials in disarray.

Prosecutors have said in court documents that Durkee used money siphoned from her clients to pay expenses such as the mortgage on her condominium, visits to Disneyland, charges on her credit cards, medical bills and her own firm's business costs.

Feinstein has said in documents filed with the Federal Election Commission that she lost at least $4.5 million to Durkee.

Mueller ordered Durkee to undergo mental health treatment while incarcerated, saying she would have to learn to "avoid behavior patterns that led to this situation."

Both the judge and Durkee's lawyer, Daniel Nixon, declined to elaborate on the nature of Durkee's mental health issues.

Durkee, dressed in a simple black outfit, began to cry during the discussion of her mental health and behavior.

"This was a very egregious offense. It was a deep violation of the trust of her clients, and had a profound impact," U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner of the Eastern District of California told reporters after the sentencing.

Under the terms of her plea agreement, to help make restitution to her former clients, Durkee must sell a property in Burbank, California, that had housed the offices of her now-defunct business, Durkee & Associates. She has already liquidated roughly $91,000 from her 401(k) savings account to make payment toward that restitution, her lawyer said in court.

"Unfortunately, like many fraud cases, this is a case in which most of the money that was taken was spent years ago," Wagner said. "There's really no winners in this situation."

Two decades have passed since nightclub entertainer and blond bombshell Gennifer Flowers stepped before cameras and announced she had a 12-year affair with then-Gov. Bill Clinton, joining a roster of attractive women who reported similar dalliances, wanted and unwanted. Miss Flowers has stepped forward once again to reveal that in 2005, Mr. Clinton offered to come visit her once again.

"I picked up the telephone, and it was him. I said, 'No, you can't come over here. No way.' I said 'No, you can't come to my house.' He said, 'I'll put on a hoodie and jog up there.' He used to do that. I said 'No. No. And I want you to leave me alone.' And that was the end of it," said Miss Flowers, now 62, as she sipped wine and laughed languidly through an interview with WGNO, an ABC affiliate in New Orleans.

She also had advice for Paula Broadwell, still generating scandalous news coverage of her affair with former CIA Director David H. Petraeus.

"Call me, Paula," Miss Flowers said, miming a phone to her ear. "I'll give you some really good advice."

The self-described "cougar," author and motivational speaker, incidentally, is currently shopping around a new reality show titled "The Real Housewives of New Orleans," in which she plays herself.

Dem on trial seen as part of old Chicago politicsBy MICHAEL TARM By MICHAEL TARM

CHICAGO (AP) — The grizzled Chicago Democrat has compared himself to a virile hog, likened a then-chief prosecutor to a Nazi and bragged about directing government investigators to kiss his posterior.

William Beavers' you-can't-touch-me bravado will be put to the test as the former police officer-turned-politician beats a path — well-worn in Illinois — to a federal courthouse for testimony at his tax-evasion trial this week.

The combative Cook County commissioner stands accused of diverting more than $225,000 from campaign coffers to feed a casino-gambling habit and for other personal use without reporting it. Jury selection began Monday, and opening statements are expected later this week.

With his booming voice and devil-may-care persona, the 77-year-old Beavers is seen by many as an artifact of old-school Chicago politics.

"He's of a generation that felt, if you win election, the seat isn't in the public trust — it's yours as a spoil of war," said David Morrison, of Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. "You now have license to look out for yourself and your family."

Beavers also is accused of failing to declare that he took more than $68,000 in campaign money and put it in a city fund to double the monthly pension he got for his years as an alderman to more than $6,000.

He pleaded not guilty to four tax-related counts, each of which carries a maximum three-year prison term.

There's a bit of deja vu at Beavers' trial. It's taking place in the same courtroom as that of disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The judge is the same, as are many of the defense attorneys and some of the prosecutors.

Blagojevich is serving a 14-year prison sentence on multiple corruption convictions, including charges that he tried to sell President Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat.

One question that Beavers' cases raises, says Tom Gradel, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is whether Chicago politics is no longer as corrupt as it was in his heyday.

"Beavers wasn't bashful about talking about his wheeling and dealing," he said. "But I don't see too much difference in the new school. Now, it's about campaign contributions, whereas old school may have relied on kickback from employees."

Politicians, he said, operate "on the borders between what's acceptable and criminal" and are good at adapting.

"Once that line is changed by law enforcement, they move into different grayer areas — away from the clearly criminal areas," he said.

Other much-younger Illinois politicians have recently found themselves in legal trouble. Last month, 47-year-old Jesse Jackson Jr., once viewed hopefully as a new-age politician, resigned from Congress amid an investigation of his campaign finances.

One of Beavers' attorneys is Sam Adam Jr., who was Blagojevich's lead lawyer at the Democrat governor's first corruption trial. That trial ended with the jury deadlocked on all but one charge, leading to a second decisive trial.

Adam's penchant for showmanship and delighting in verbal brawls meshes well with Beavers' public image.

Beavers' most famous rhetorical flourish came several years ago when he offered a favorable estimation of his own influence by calling himself "a hog with big nuts."

He's hardly proven a wilting flower since his February indictment.

Within minutes of entering a not guilty plea, he walked down to the lobby of Chicago's federal courthouse and accused then-U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald of using "Gestapo-type tactics" to win convictions. Fitzgerald, who was responsible for the indictment of Blagojevich and dozens of other Illinois politicians, retired over the summer to enter private practice.

Beavers has said he was indicted in an act of retribution by investigators for refusing to wear a wire against another county commissioner, John Daley, the brother of former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. U.S. District Judge James Zagel barred defense attorneys from broaching that allegation at the trial.

Zagel did say they could argue Beavers eventually paid back the money in question and amended his returns after he learned he was under investigation. However, Zagel said that claim would only be admissible if it came from Beavers' mouth on the witness stand.

As he left court Monday, Beavers told reporters he would testify. "No question about it," he said.

Gradel, for one, doesn't think Beavers' gushing confidence will play well with jurors.

"He's glib and still may think the world is as accepting as it was 30 or 40 years ago of this behavior," he said. "The public isn't as intolerable as I'd like them to be. But they aren't as tolerable as they were."

New Details Are Leaking Out About The Sen. Bob Menendez Case, And It's Looking Worse And Worse

Brett LoGiurato|Feb. 11, 2013, 8:44 AM|6,918|23

Getty Images/Drew Angerer

Senator Robert Menendez, D-N.J.

New details leaking out about the ethics case surrounding Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) do not paint a pretty picture for the Senator.

The New York Times has new details today about evidence that Menendez aided friend and donor, Dr. Salomon E. Melgen, in getting a $500 million port contract. According to the Times, Menendez also used his clout to halt a U.S. plan to send port security equipment to the Dominican Republic, something that would have hurt his friend's business.

From the Times:

n recently obtained e-mails, the degree to which Mr. Menendez sought to intervene on behalf of Dr. Melgen’s interests became clearer.

In a January e-mail exchange with Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Security, Mr. Menendez’s staff did not mention Dr. Melgen or his company, Boarder Support Services, by name.

But the aide asked if the United States government was planning to donate additional port security equipment to the Dominican Republic. The aide explained that if such a donation occurred, the Dominican government, perhaps under pressure from criminal elements there, might intentionally limit the use of the equipment so that drugs or other contraband could still flow through the country’s ports on the way to the United States.

Only by hiring the unnamed private contractor, the e-mail said, could the United States be assured that port security in the Dominican Republic would be enhanced.

"We’re thinking that Sen. Menendez forgot to mention this when he gave the Senate Democrat leadership assurances that there was nothing to the charges against him," the Republican National Committee said in an email blast along with the story this morning.

The new details from the Times came after a Sunday story in Menendez's home-state paper, The Star-Ledger, which provides several examples of cases in which Menendez intervening to Melgen's benefit preceded hefty donations to the Senator or aligned campaign committees.

According to the Ledger, Melgen and his family have donated about $50,000 to Menendez over the past 10 years. That's peanuts compared to the $700,000 they have provided to the Majority PAC, the Super PAC set up to help elect Democrats like Menendez.

And there are the free flights that Melgen provided Menendez to the Dominican Republic, for which Menendez reimbursed Melgen after they became public. According to National Journal, the $58,500 repayment represented as much as 87 percent of Menendez's net worth.

The Washington Post also reported last week that Menendez intervened on Melgen's behalf when the latter was accused of overbilling the government by $8.9 million for care at his clinic.

In an editorial on Saturday, the Times called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to relinquish Menendez's gavel as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, saying he "was never a distinguished choice for chairman."

Warren Ballentine, 41, Durham, North Carolina, and formerly of Country Club Hills, Illinois, a lawyer who hosts a national radio talk show, was indicted on federal charges for allegedly engaging in two mortgage fraud schemes that defrauded lenders of a total of approximately $9.7 million.

The defendant allegedly schemed with others to obtain more than two dozen fraudulent mortgage loans and represented buyers at multiple closings, knowing that they were fraudulently qualified for loans to purchase homes in Chicago, Illinois, and various southern suburbs.

Ballentine owns the Law Office of Warren Ballentine, LLC, in Country Club Hills. He was charged with two counts of bank fraud, two counts of making false statements to lenders, and one count each of mail fraud and wire fraud in a six-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of approximately $9,775,000 in alleged fraud proceeds.

Ballentine is scheduled to be arraigned before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in Federal Court in Chicago.'

According to the indictment, between December 2004 and February 2005, Ballentine schemed with others to fraudulently cause various lenders to make at least eight loans totaling approximately $3.6 million by making false statements in loan documents, including applications, HUD-1 settlement statements, and occupancy statements concerning the buyers' intention to occupy the homes they purchased as a primary residence.

Ballentine then represented buyers recruited by others at real estate closings, knowing that they had signed and submitted false documents and had been fraudulently qualified to purchase the properties in Chicago, Monee, Woodridge, and Mokena, Illinois.

Between February 2005 and May 2006, Ballentine allegedly engaged in a similar, separate scheme with others to fraudulently cause various lenders to make at least 20 loans totaling approximately $6.1 million by making false statements in mortgage documents, including the buyers' intention to occupy the homes as a primary residence. Ballentine also represented these buyers at closings, knowing that they had been fraudulently qualified for the loans based on false documents, including some that Ballentine advised them to sign at closings. These homes were scattered throughout Chicago and other suburbs, including Country Club Hills, Richton Park, and Markham, Illinois.

Each count of the indictment carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine or, as an alternative, the Court may impose a fine of twice the gross gain or twice the loss, whichever is greater, and restitution is mandatory. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The indictment was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Thomas P. Brady, Inspector-in-Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Yonan.

WASHINGTON » Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has been charged with spending $750,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses. His wife was charged with filing false income tax forms.

Federal prosecutors filed a charge of conspiracy against the former congressman and charged his wife, Sandra, with one count of filing false joint federal income tax returns for the years 2006 through 2011.

In a statement, the former congressman says he offers no excuses for his conduct and fully accepts responsibility for the improper decisions and mistakes he has made.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he accepted more than $200,000 in bribes plus free trips and other gratuities in exchange for helping contractors secure millions of dollars in work for the city.

U.S. Magistrate Sally Shushan set Nagin's bond at $100,000 during his arraignment on charges that include bribery, wire fraud and filing false tax returns. She also set a preliminary trial date of April 29.

The charges against Nagin are the product of a City Hall corruption investigation that already has resulted in guilty pleas by two former city officials and two businessmen and a prison sentence for a former city vendor.

His arraignment marked a rare public appearance for Nagin, who now lives in Frisco, Texas, and has kept a low-profile since he left office in 2010.

Nagin didn't answer reporters' questions as he entered and left the courthouse, trailed by a gaggle of television cameras and news photographers. He didn't say much in court, either, except for responding to a series of routine yes-or-no questions from Shushan and uttering the words "not guilty" 21 times - once for each count he faces.

Nagin has to surrender his passport and needs permission from court officials to travel outside Louisiana and Texas while the case is pending.

Nagin was a political novice before he was first elected mayor in 2002, but Hurricane Katrina turned him into a national figure with a reputation for cringe-inducing rhetoric. His popularity steadily waned in the aftermath of the 2005 storm, as the city struggled to recover from the epic flooding unleashed by broken levees.

An indictment last month accuses Nagin, 56, of accepting more than $160,000 in bribes and truckloads of free granite for his family business in exchange for promoting the interests of Frank Fradella, a local businessman. Fradella pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to commit bribery and has been cooperating with federal authorities.

Nagin also is charged with accepting at least $60,000 in payoffs from another businessman, Rodney Williams, for his help in securing city contracts for architectural, engineering and management services work. Williams pleaded guilty in December to a conspiracy charge.

The indictment also accuses Nagin of getting free private jet and limousine services to New York from an unidentified businessman who owned a New Orleans movie theater. Nagin is accused of agreeing to waive tax penalties that the businessman owed to the city on a delinquent tax bill in 2006.

From several city contractors, Nagin is accused of accepting free travel and vacation expenses for trips to Hawaii, Chicago, Las Vegas and Jamaica while in office.

Greg Meffert, a former technology official and deputy mayor under Nagin, pleaded guilty in 2010 to taking bribes and kickbacks in exchange for steering city contracts to businessman Mark St. Pierre. Anthony Jones, who served as the city's chief technology officer in Nagin's administration, also pleaded guilty to taking payoffs.

St. Pierre was convicted in May 2011 of charges that include conspiracy, bribery and money laundering. Nagin's indictment accuses him of accepting bribes from St. Pierre.

Nagin served two terms as mayor. Term limits prevented him from seeking a third.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Robert Menendez sponsored legislation with incentives for natural gas vehicle conversions that would benefit the biggest political donor to his re-election, the same eye doctor whose private jet Menendez used for two personal trips to the Dominican Republic, an Associated Press investigation found.

The disclosure reflects the latest intersection between the New Jersey Democrat who is the subject of an ethics inquiry on Capitol Hill and the Florida doctor involved in a federal criminal investigation.

Dr. Salomon Melgen invested in Gaseous Fuel Systems Corp. of Weston, Fla., and joined its board of directors in early 2010, according to the company's chief executive and a former company consultant. GFS, as the company is known, designs, manufactures and sells products to convert diesel-fuel fleets to natural gas. The amount of Melgen's investment is confidential under rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, but a 2009 document filed with the SEC showed the company required a minimum individual investment at that time of $51,500.

At the same time, Menendez emerged as a principal supporter of a natural gas bill that would boost tax credits and grants to truck and heavy vehicle fleets that converted to alternative fuels. The bill stalled in the Senate Finance Committee, and after it was revived in 2012, the NAT GAS Act failed to win the needed 60 votes to pass.

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, once seen as a rising star in Democratic Party politics, was convicted on Monday on two dozen federal charges of corruption and bribery during his 7 year tenure.

U.S. prosecutors accused Kilpatrick, 42, his father and a city contractor of widespread corruption, extorting bribes from contractors who wanted to get or keep city contracts, and turning the mayor's office into "Kilpatrick Incorporated" from 2001 until he resigned in 2008.

Many people in Detroit believe Kilpatrick contributed to the decline of the city, home of the U.S. auto industry. The verdict was handed down as Detroit's financial crisis was nearing a new low, with Michigan state soon expected to appoint an emergency financial manager, a move that could lead to the biggest municipal bankruptcy in the United States.

The 12 jurors, who deliberated for 14 days from mid-February in a U.S. District Court trial that started last September, returned a sweeping verdict against Kilpatrick following the biggest public corruption probe in Detroit in decades.

Prosecutors accused Kilpatrick of steering more than $83 million worth of municipal contracts to his friend Bobby Ferguson, a city contractor, who shared some of the money with the former mayor.

Jurors found Kilpatrick guilty of racketeering, extortion, bribery, mail and wire fraud, and tax charges. They found Ferguson guilty of racketeering, extortion and bribery. The most serious charges call for prison sentences of up to 20 years.

The former mayor's father, Bernard Kilpatrick, was convicted on a single count of signing a false tax return.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds ordered Kwame Kilpatrick and Ferguson immediately taken into custody pending sentencing. All three men had been free on bail during the trial. No sentencing dates have been scheduled.

"You showed disregard and contempt for the people of the city of Detroit, and a willingness to lie," Edmunds told Kilpatrick.

Kwame Kilpatrick, who wore a dark suit and patterned tie in court, was quiet as the verdicts were read, resting his chin on folded hands. At times, Kilpatrick shook his head.

The judge, before reading the decisions, said the jurors reached the verdicts late on Friday, but "wanted to go home and sleep on it" until Monday. They were unanimous on 40 of the 45 charges against the three defendants.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Arkansas' state treasurer was accused Monday of taking at least $36,000 in cash - sometimes stashed in a pie box - from a broker who later came to manage a large share of the state's $3.3 billion investment portfolio.

Democrat Martha Shoffner, who made her initial court appearance Monday, said she had no plans to resign despite members of her own party joining Republican calls for her to step down. She was released on her own recognizance but ordered to surrender her passport.

Federal prosecutors allege Shoffner accepted $12,000 a year from a broker who would sometimes deliver cash in a pie box, with the pie included. They said the broker is cooperating with investigators.

"The allegations against Ms. Shoffner are serious and they completely erode the public trust that we put in our elected officials, if they prove to be true," U.S. Attorney Chris Thyer said at a news conference.

Outside the courthouse, Shoffner, 68, said she does not intend to resign. She was re-elected in 2010, and has faced inquiries over the past year about the way her office has handled state investments.

She didn't enter a plea Monday, but her attorney, Chuck Banks, said she'd plead not guilty at the appropriate time. A federal grand jury will decide whether to indict Shoffner, who is charged with attempt and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.

The charges carry maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. A next court date was not set.

Shoffner was arrested during a sting operation Saturday and spent the weekend in Pulaski County Jail.

"This has been a very, very tough proceeding for her and a tough weekend," Banks said.

An FBI affidavit filed in federal court alleges that a broker - unidentified in court documents - would roll up cash in $6,000 increments and have it delivered to Shoffner's office every six months. At least two of the payments were delivered in a pie box with a pie. The broker "recognized his/her bond business with the state grew because of the payments," the affidavit said.

The payments were made after Shoffner asked the broker for $1,000 a month to pay her rent in Little Rock, according to the affidavit. The document said the broker was granted immunity in exchange for his or her cooperation.

Legislative auditors last year questioned Shoffner's selling of bonds before they matured, a practice that they said cost the state more than $434,000 worth of earnings.

The state's top elected officials, including Gov. Mike Beebe, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, called for Shoffner to resign.

"I think she should resign immediately," said Beebe, adding that the details provided by prosecutors are so specific that Shoffner has been rendered unable to lead.

"It would be very hard, in my opinion, for that office to properly function under her continued leadership," the Democrat added.

The heads of the Democratic and Republican parties also said Shoffner should step down.

"The incompetence that has been uncovered, the criminal charges that are pending, and the distraction from her office that due process will involve make her unfit to continue in her service as State Treasurer," Arkansas Republican Party Chairman Doyle Webb said.

Banks, Shoffner's attorney, said he "probably" would advise Shoffner to resign, but that the call is ultimately up to her.

"If she cannot properly perform her duties and responsibilities and still protect herself in a crime accusation, then to me it would be something for strong consideration," he told reporters.

Lawmakers could hold impeachment proceedings to remove Shoffner from office if she doesn't resign, but legislative leaders stopped short of saying whether they'd consider it.

Shoffner was arrested at her home in Newport after the broker agreed to record the meeting and bring $6,000 in a pie box, according to the affidavit. FBI agents executed a search warrant and found the cash inside a cigarette package in Shoffner's kitchen.

"Shoffner admitted she knew it was wrong to accept the payments," the affidavit said.

Thyer said he did not know how much the state had invested with the broker, or how much commission the broker made from the bond transactions. Thyer said it wasn't an easy decision for prosecutors to grant immunity to the broker, who he wouldn't name.

"It was a decision made out of necessity more than anything else," the U.S. attorney said. "At the core of this particular conspiracy as alleged in the affidavit there were two people, and if both of those two people remained silent we would not be here today."

The State Securities Department, which regulates brokers, said it would look into who made the payments to Shoffner and whether they were acting alone or on behalf of a firm.

"We're probably going to have to hunt this person down and we're going to do that," Securities Commissioner Heath Abshure said.

The CEO of St. Bernard Financial Services, the firm that legislative auditors said handled the bulk of bond investments by Shoffner's office, said he had not been contacted by the FBI.

Auditors said the office purchased $1.69 billion in bonds from St. Bernard and a related firm between July 2008 and March 2012, almost double the amount purchased from any other broker.

"If my broker is the one involved, I am not aware of it," Robert Keenan wrote in an email to The Associated Press. "At this time I don't believe he was, but anything is possible."

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner apologized Thursday as allegations that he sexually harassed women continued to stir controversy.

"I begin today by apologizing to you. I have diminished the office to which you elected me. I have reached into my heart and soul and realize I must and will change my behavior," he said in a statement, according to NBC San Diego.

"As someone who has spent a lifetime fighting for equality for all people, I am embarrassed to admit that I have failed to fully respect the women who work for me and with me, and that at times I have intimidated them," Filner said in the statement. "I am also humbled to admit that I need help. I have begun to work with professionals to make changes in my behavior and approach. In addition, my staff and I will participate in sexual harassment training provided by the city. Please know that I fully understand that only I am the one who can make these changes."

Filner had refused to respond to allegations earlier, even when several high-profile San Diego figures and former allies of the mayor called for him to step down over the controversy.

The AP reported earlier:

A letter to Filner from former Councilwoman Donna Frye obtained by station KPBS said she recently received "credible evidence" that the mayor harassed more than one woman. She asked that the City Council schedule a special election to replace him. Frye didn't immediately respond to a phone message from The Associated Press, but was scheduled to appear at a news conference Thursday.

Frye's urging came two days after Filner's fiance, Bronwyn Ingram, announced in an email to her team of volunteers that she was breaking their engagement.

"I am extremely disappointed and heartbroken, both for what Team First Lady could have accomplished, and for me, personally; however, this is the only action I can take given the devolvement of our personal relationship," Ingram wrote.

San Diego mayor asks city to pay legal fees in sexual harassment caseFormer communications director accuses Bob Filner, 70, of demanding kisses and asking her to work without underweartheguardian.comTuesday 30 July 2013San Diego mayor Bob Filner said he would get help. Photograph: Bill Wechter/Getty Images

A city council that overwhelmingly wants mayor Bob Filner to resign is being asked to pay the beleaguered leader's legal bills in a lawsuit filed by his former communications director that accuses him of asking her to work without underwear, demanding kisses and telling her he wanted to see her naked.

The city council was to consider the request late Tuesday as dueling efforts got underway to recall San Diego's first Democratic leader in 20 years.

Seven of nine city council members have urged Filner to resign, ensuring stiff opposition to paying his legal expenses.

Ann Ravel, the chairwoman of the California Fair Political Practices Commission, said an official cannot accept more than $440 a year in donated services. Campaign money can only be used to defend against alleged violations of the state's campaign finance law.

An official can, however, create a legal defense fund under state law, Ravel said, leaving a possible avenue if the city council rebuffs Filner.

Filner, who is 70 and divorced, said Friday that he would enter two weeks of "intensive" therapy August 5, defying calls from his own party leaders to resign. The former 10-term congressman is less than eight months into a four-year term as mayor.

Land-use surveyor Michael Pallamary published a newspaper notice Sunday to begin a recall bid, two days after gay rights activist Stampp Corbin did so. Pallamary accused Corbin of being a stealth supporter of the mayor and threatened to file a complaint with the San Diego County district attorney's office alleging election law violations.

Pallamary said Corbin would make little effort to collect the more than 100,000 signatures needed to get a recall measure on the ballot, setting it up to fail and preventing another recall drive for six months.

Corbin, who backed Filner in November's election, didn't respond to phone or email messages late Monday.

Confusion over whether recall petitions can circulate concurrently isn't the only procedural flaw uncovered since the mayor came under pressure to resign. The city attorney's office says a rule that voters must cast a ballot on a recall to be eligible to pick a replacement should be repealed because a federal judge struck down a nearly identical law during the successful 2003 recall of California governor Gray Davis.

Tony Krvaric, chairman of the San Diego County Republican party, said Friday that he didn't expect big GOP donors or business leaders to make significant donations to a recall.

Los Angeles (CNN) -- A nurse Tuesday accused San Diego Bob Filner of rubbing her arm in his office and asking for dinner dates in June in exchange for his helping a brain-injured Iraq War veteran.

The allegations make her the 11th woman this summer to accuse Filner of sexual harassment while he was mayor or a congressman. Filner, who this week began intensive counseling for his behavior with women, couldn't be immediately reached for comment.

"I felt that his rubbing my arm and telling me to relax and making me feel that help for Katherine was contingent on my going out with him was extremely inappropriate and unacceptable," Michelle Tyler, a licensed vocational nurse, told reporters at a San Diego press conference where she was accompanied by her attorney, Gloria Allred.

Tyler was the caregiver to Katherine Ragazzino, a Marine injured in Iraq, who was seeking Filner's assistance in negotiating problems with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for her traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The alleged incident occurred June 11 when Tyler, Ragazzino and a veteran's representative were in Filner's office, and then Filner asked to meet alone with Tyler, telling Ragazzino and the veteran's representative: "Please step out, you don't need to hear this," Allred said.

Then Tyler was alone with the mayor in his office.

"The mayor sat back in his chair and said, 'Wow, you are really magnificent.' The mayor started rubbing Ms. Tyler's arm and stated 'Relax, you are incredible. I will help your veteran. I want you to go out to dinner with me and spend time with me,'" Allred said.

Filner allegedly asked Tyler if she was married, and she replied she was in the middle of a divorce. The mayor allegedly replied, "Good," according to Allred.

Filner then allegedly referred to Tyler's paperwork requesting the meeting and asked, "Is that your phone number that I can call you at?" Allred said.

Stunned, Tyler responded, "I am here to focus on Katherine," according to Allred.

Filner allegedly persisted and said, "I am going to help her but I would really like to be seen in public with you, you are really something," Allred said.

Filner allegedly asked Tyler, "Will you go to dinner with me if I help your Marine? Can I call you?" according to Allred.

Tyler said she needed to leave his office, but the mayor allegedly told her, "If we were not here in my office, I would like to kiss you," Allred said.

After telling the mayor he should focus on Ragazzino's issues, Tyler stood up and left his office, and the mayor allegedly said on her way out, "I am going to call you," Allred said.

Tyler and Ragazzino, who have known each other since 2004, first met with Filner when he was a congressman in 2011, and "he encouraged us to seek him out again if appropriate corrective measures were not taken by the VA," Ragazzino said.

Ragazzino was injured in Iraq and spent 18 months in a hospital as a result of her traumatic brain injury. She and Allred declined to elaborate on the injury.

At one point, Ragazzino was living in her car, and her problems with the VA about her disability "seriously affected my healing process," she said.

After discharged from the Marines, Ragazzino was "at rock bottom and pushing everyone away" because of the brain injury and post-traumatic stress, she said.

"I don't appreciate being used as a bargaining chip to fulfill his sexual desires," Ragazzino said.

Said Tyler: "It was extremely disturbing to me that he made it very clear to me that his expectation was that his help for Katherine depended on my willingness to go to dinner with him, spend personal time with him and be seen in public with him."

Tyler and Ragazzino are asking the city attorney to investigate the mayor for sexual harassment.

Tyler doesn't have plans to file any civil lawsuit, Allred said.

During Tuesday's press conference, Allred displayed a warning sign that she said should be displayed out the mayor's office: "Danger. Warning to women. Keep out. Keep out. Mayor is in his office. Proceed at your own risk."

"I am embarrassed to admit that I have failed to fully respect the women who work for me and with me, and that at times I have intimidated them. It's a good thing that behavior that would have been tolerated in the past is being called out in this generation for what it is: inappropriate and wrong," he said in a statement issued July 11.

But Filner, 70, has also said he believes he will be vindicated by "a full presentation of the facts" and he will not resign, though alleged victims have so asked.

Filner served 10 terms, or 20 years, in Congress before being elected mayor in 2012. Many of the accusations come from his time as a congressman.

Newest Filner accusers: Women veterans who were raped while in the militaryposted at 5:41 pm on August 7, 2013 by Allahpundit

Via Breitbart, I thought yesterday’s story about him allegedly harassing a brain-damaged Marine’s nurse would be the low point. Now, after reading this, I’m surprised that he didn’t harass the Marine too.

Are we at rock bottom, finally? What’s left?

Fernandez, along with Army veteran Gerri Tindley, joins 11 other women who have publicly accused Filner, 70, of making unwanted advances, from groping to verbal passes.

They are also among at least eight female veterans and members of the National Women’s Veterans Association of America (NWVAA) in San Diego who have made accusations against the mayor. Almost all of the women were victims of sexual assault while they were in the military…

“He went to dinners, asked women out to dinners, grabbed breasts, buttocks. The full gamut. Everything that is complete violation of what we stand for,” [NWVAA President Tara] Jones said. “He’s a sexual predator. And he used this organization for his own personal agenda.”…

“We’re all victims of military sexual assault. It appears to me that he was targeting the organization and hitting on the women of this organization because they were easy prey,” Fernandez said. “He’s part of an organization that’s against sexual assault and sexual violence against women and sexual harassment. And he’s doing the very thing that we are fighting to make stop in our service and in our country.”

Note well: That’s 13 women who have accused him publicly, plus six more women vets at the NWVAA who have accused him privately to Jones. If you think this isn’t somehow going to get worse, why not?

“But wait,” you say, “what is he doing spending so much time around women veterans in the first place?” Good question. The NWVAA reached out to him initially because, for 20 years before he was Mayor Filner, he was Congressman Filner. And not just any congressman: For four years, he was … chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. He knew that these women needed his help and he knew that they knew that he was in a position to help if they were, shall we say, agreeable. To him, they must have been, as one vet says in the clip below, “easy prey.” That’s the psychology we’re dealing with here. And that’s why, to repeat a point made once before, it’s almost impossible to believe that none of Filner’s pals in the House Democratic caucus had any idea what he was doing. The sheer volume alone suggests otherwise.

Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was sentenced to two and a half years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to scheming to spend $750,000 in campaign funds on TV's, restaurant dinners, an expensive watch and other costly personal items. His wife received a sentence of one year.

Jackson, the 48-year-old son of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, had been a Democratic congressman from Illinois from 1995 until he resigned last November. In an emotional speech to the judge during which he became choked up and used tissues to blow his nose, he apologized and said he wanted to "take responsibility for my actions."

"I misled the American people," he said.

According to court papers in the case, Jackson used campaign money to buy items including a $43,350 gold-plated men's Rolex watch.

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said that as a public official Jackson was expected to "live up to a higher standard of ethics and integrity." After prison, he is to spend three years on supervised release and complete 500 hours of community service.

Jackson's wife, Sandra Jackson, was sentenced Wednesday to a year in prison for filing joint federal income tax returns that understated the couple's income. She spent $5,150 in campaign funds on fur capes and parkas, court documents show.

Jesse Jackson Jr. had pleaded guilty to the criminal charges back in February. He admitted that he and his wife used campaign credit cards to buy 3,100 personal items worth $582,772 from 2005 through April of last year -- including $60,857 for personal expenditures at restaurants, nightclubs and lounges; $16,058 for personal expenditures at sports clubs and lounges; $5,814 for alcohol and $14,513 for dry cleaning.

Individual campaign credit card purchases included a $466 dinner for two of "a personal nature" at a restaurant; a washer, dryer, range and refrigerator for the Jacksons' Chicago home; multiple flat-screen televisions, Blu-Ray DVD players and DVDs for their Washington, D.C., home; and a five-day health retreat for one of Mrs. Jackson's relatives.

Jackson told another judge when he entered his plea that "for years I lived in my campaign."

On Wednesday, Jackson asked that his family, in particular his son and daughter, not suffer because of his actions. He said he hoped his wife would get probation and that if that wasn't available he could serve her sentence for her.

"Give me her time," he said.

Jackson also asked to serve his time in Alabama, saying, "I wanted to make it a little inconvenient for everybody to get to me."

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Jackson faced a potential sentencing range of 46 to 57 months in prison, and the government recommended the lower end of that -- 48 months. Jackson's lawyer, Reid H. Weingarten, wrote that the former congressman's mental health might worsen under the stress of incarceration. Jackson has been treated for depression and bipolar disorder.

Prosecutors sought an 18-month prison sentence for Sandra Jackson, who was a Chicago alderman before she resigned this year during the federal investigation.

U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen has said the government could have come up with more serious charges against her than filing false joint federal income tax returns, but used discretion because the Jacksons have children.

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A 67-year-old great-grandmother became the latest of 16 women to publicly accuse San Diego Mayor Bob Filner of sexual harassment, as city officials calling for him to resign sought to turn up the pressure on the embattled politician.

Peggy Shannon, who earned $8 an hour in a part-time City Hall job providing information to senior citizens, said Filner repeatedly made unwanted advances toward her over a period of several months, asking for dates and once kissing her on the mouth. She did not give a specific timeframe for the alleged incidents.

On one occasion, she recounted, "Mayor Filner came by my desk and asked me if I thought he could go eight hours in one night. I was shocked that he would say that to me."

Shannon, a great-grandmother whose job supplemented her Social Security income, said Filner's behavior left her embarrassed and in tears, but she ultimately decided to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Investigations Office and to go public.

She did so at a news conference accompanied by attorney Gloria Allred, who also represents the mayor's former press secretary, Irene McCormack Jackson, who filed a sexual harassment suit against Filner and the city on July 22.

At least 15 other women have come forward since then - Shannon being the latest - to accuse the 70-year-old Democrat and former congressman of groping and other sexually inappropriate behavior.

The allegations have prompted nearly every elected official in San Diego to call on Filner to resign as mayor of California's second-largest city, and a bipartisan campaign seeking his ouster through a recall election has been launched.

Filner has apologized for what he has acknowledged was a pattern of disrespectful and intimidating treatment of women, and said last month he would undergo two weeks of intensive behavioral counseling.

According to his lawyers, Filner completed his therapy on Saturday - about 10 days earlier than originally planned - and would continue counseling while remaining on personal leave for another week. Representatives for Filner could not immediately be reached for comment.

TALK OF REMOVAL

Meanwhile, the mayor has come under mounting scrutiny for his use of a city-issued credit card for what opponents describe as questionable expenses and for allowing city lobbying contracts to lapse for several months.

Those two issues have led to discussions among the city attorney and City Council members of possible moves to curtail Filner's powers as mayor or force his removal from office.

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith on Thursday publicly circulated a legal memo explaining a city charter provision that allows for an expedited lawsuit by the city, seeking the removal of any city official found to have made unauthorized expenditures of municipal funds.

Such a judgment would be rendered by a court, not by the City Council. But it would be up to the council to authorize the filing of a declaratory relief action at the City Attorney's request, Goldsmith, a Republican, wrote.

City Council President Todd Gloria, a Democrat, has said he believes such an action would be considered in closed session with the city attorney next Wednesday, said Katie Keach, deputy chief of staff for Gloria.

She said it was up to the city attorney to decide on what basis Filner might be sued for unauthorized payments from the city treasury. The city attorney's Office did not answer repeated requests for comment.

Republican Councilman Kevin Faulconer, a Republican and chairman of the audit committee, has called into question some $21,000 he said Filner spent using city credit cards on a June trip to Paris. Filner has promised to reimburse the city for those expenses.

The online newspaper U-T San Diego has reported the mayor ran up $11,000 in city credit card bills over several months for which he initially failed to submit required receipts, including nearly $1,000 deemed as personal expenses. The mayor's office has said he would repay those expenses.

Faulconer has set a hearing next month to review the mayor's credit card use, and Gloria has called on the mayor's office for an update on contracts for lobbyists who are paid to represent the city's interests in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

Gloria has raised the idea of seeking to strip the mayor of intergovernmental responsibilities and turn those powers over to the City Council.

'Surrender Bob' message written in San Diego sky Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.Posted: 08/16/2013

SAN DIEGO - A San Diego radio station hired skywriters Friday to spell out "Surrender Bob" over three areas of the city -- a message intended for embattled Mayor Bob Filner.

The words appeared over Rancho Bernardo, Mission Valley and downtown, where atmospheric conditions caused the lettering to blur quickly.

The writing was sponsored by the "Jeff & Jer Showgram," the morning show on radio station KYXY. The planes also spelled out "Jeff and Jer."

"While there's a clear sentiment toward Mayor Filner among San Diegans currently, it's not our intent to be overtly political," said the show's Tommy Sablan. "If nothing else we hope our little stunt brings a much-needed smile to the face of San Diego on a Friday afternoon."

Filner has resisted numerous calls for his resignation over accusations of sexual harassment, and investigations into alleged misuse of city-issued credit cards and shakedowns of developers.

Organizers of an effort to recall Filner plan to start circulating petitions Sunday.

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner resigns, faces criminal investigationThe city agrees to pay some of his legal expenses in sexual harassment suit. A defiant Filner apologizes to his backers but says he was victimized by 'the hysteria of the lynch mob.'By Tony Perry and Richard MarosiAugust 23, 2013

SAN DIEGO — After six weeks of civic turmoil over his treatment of women, Mayor Bob Filner submitted his resignation Friday, and the City Council approved a deal to pay for some of his expenses from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former aide.

In an emotional and defiant address to the council after the vote was announced, Filner apologized to his victims and supporters but also said he had been victimized by "the hysteria of the lynch mob" caused by politicians and the media once the allegations by some 18 women became public.

"I faced lynch mobs many times when I was younger," Filner said, a reference to his activism in the 1960s as a Freedom Rider in the segregated South when he spent two months in a Mississippi jail.

But, Filner added, his voice breaking, "The city should not have been put through this, and my own personal failings were responsible." The resignation is effective Aug. 30.

"This settlement is an end to our civic nightmare and allows this city to begin to heal," said Council President Todd Gloria, one of two council members who negotiated for three days with Filner, his attorneys, and the city attorney to reach the deal.

Within minutes of the council decision, a spokesman for the state attorney general's office confirmed that a criminal investigation into Filner's treatment of women "is underway." Investigators have been interviewing some of the women who have come forward with allegations.

Filner's resignation does not affect the investigation, a source close to the investigation said.

Filner, 70, was elected in November as the city's first Democratic mayor in two decades.

When he entered the council chambers after the vote was announced, his supporters stood and applauded but council members, all of whom had called for Filner to resign, showed no emotion.

He repeated his previous apologies to the city and to the women he has offended. But he also called on the council and his potential successors not to abandon the agenda he brought to the mayor's office: better neighborhood services, respect for city employees and concern for lower-income neighborhoods.

Filner said that his own conduct provided the ammunition for his critics but that "well-organized interests who have run this city for half a century" conspired to run him from office. He singled out politicians and the media for criticism.

He apologized to his ex-fiancee, Bronwyn Ingram, who ended their relationship just days before the first allegations were made against Filner. She said she had caught Filner making dates with other women.

"I love you very much," Filner said to Ingram, who was not present. "You love San Diego as much as I did. I personally apologize for the hurt I caused you."

"Justice has been done," said City Atty. Jan Goldsmith.

The deal approved 7-0 by the council does not resolve the lawsuit filed against Filner and the city by Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred on behalf of Irene McCormack Jackson, Filner's former director of communications.

Under the agreement, the city will pay $98,000 to Filner's private attorneys. The city will also defend Filner against the Jackson lawsuit and pay any damages that result from a court decision or an out-of-court settlement.

Council members insisted that even though the deal obligates the city to assist Filner financially in fighting the lawsuit, it is in the best interests of the taxpayers because it may limit any damages the city might face from her case.

Even as he apologized, Filner remained defiant, blasting the council's decision to pay some of his legal fees only if he resigned. "I cannot afford to continue this battle," he said, "even though if I did I know I would be vindicated."

His conduct, he said, was due to awkwardness and thoughtlessness but not an intention to harass or abuse women.

The council now must call an election to be held within 90 days to find a successor. In the interim, Gloria will assume greater authority but not the full powers of the "strong mayor" adopted by voters in 2004.